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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

This and that!






I had a nasty cold for over two weeks. It drained all the creativity out of me. That's my excuse for not blogging, and I'm sticking to it. Fall is creeping in!


I've finished a few things in spite of my lack of good health. I had a lot of fun making my tiara for Nancy Eha's challenge. You'll have to watch for your chance to vote for your favorite entry. It looks like there are going to be quite a few. I tried a few things that I have never done before with beads. Maybe this will inspire me to get brave enough to add more to my quilts. Here are a couple of close-up shots. I am the Countess of Colour as I tried to add lots of colour to my tiara. I also just love bright colors, so it seemed fitting.



I finished a very small art piece for the member's only exhibit at the Textile Center. The exhibit isn't until January but I needed to turn in a photo or two and my admission form about a week ago. This will be the third year I am a member of the Textile Center but the first I have submitted something for this show. They do the member's only show every year but the first year I didn't know about it until it was too late. Last year we had family conflicts with my finishing a piece. So, this year I was determined to enter something. I submitted it on the day of the deadline. So next year my goal is the day before the deadline. LOL They don't like to have the pieces shown other places before the show, but I promise I'll show it in January.


I'm also finishing up my postcards for the postmark'ed art group. Should be done with those soon. Here is my tree bark. I used three layers of sheer fabrics, put on my mask and melted them with my heat gun. It's fun to use tools! I wouldn't do this without a respirator mask and the great outdoors to mitigate the fumes.




Two more group of cards to do. Thread painting and the last group will be anything goes!

.....hmmmm.

Have a creative day

janet



Saturday, September 5, 2009

Not a quitter!




Just wanted to let you know I didn't give up. I ripped out all the stitches and began again. Many of you gave me encouragement and advice. I really appreciated both. It is a little unnerving to learn new skills in front of so many people at times. But, now I know I have many friends out there who wish me well.

I took a good look at the advice given and used just about all of it. I also found the video section on the machine quilter's resource website. Lot's of great information there and for a visual learner such as myself it is really a find. I signed up for a class on that site but haven't done anything worth showing yet. It was a little advanced for my skill but I was able to print information to save for a later date. I will keep practicing a little each day and eventually I'll be able to show you some feathers. Every now and than I make a few that look decent.

I finished my quilt for the second time, just need to trim it up and bind it. I really like this lap quilt. It is from a book called blendable curves by Peggy J. Barkle. (here it is before quilting, I'll take a picture once I have it bound)

I have no problem using some else's patterns. Some people feel it isn't their quilt unless they design it from start to finish. There are so many beautiful patterns out there that people want you to make, so why not. I really wanted to improve my skill at making curves in a quilt. First I made this pattern, it's called Satisfaction by Maple Island Quilts It has slight curves across the quilt. (I'm quilting this one next)

Next I made the blendable curves pattern. With each one I learn new skills. What could be better.

I took a class called points and curves as the next step.

And finally I designed my own quilt with points and curves.

I like all three quilts. Have a creative day. janet